Complaint volume
115 consumer-submitted complaints are matched to this model year. Treat the count as a research signal, then read the actual summaries for repeated symptoms.
Complaint records
2021 Honda Odyssey Complaints
115 consumer-submitted complaints on record for the 2021 Honda Odyssey, grouped by component category.
115 Total complaints
2 Crash reports
1 Fire reports
4 Injury reports
Complaint data reflects consumer-submitted reports. A complaint is not proof
of a defect, recall, or manufacturer fault. Enriched severity fields come
from official bulk records when the complaint can be matched by ODI number.
Buyer interpretation
How to use these complaints before buying
Complaint records are most useful when they turn into inspection points, seller questions, and comparison checks against nearby model years.
Pattern to inspect
The most common categories are electrical system, air bags, unknown or other. Use those categories as a test-drive checklist instead of judging the vehicle from the total count alone.
Severity flags
Enriched records include 2 crash reports, 1 fire report, 4 injury reports, and 0 fatality reports. These fields come from complaint records and should be read in context.
Mileage clue
Mileage is available on 10 complaints, with an average reported failure mileage of 27,058 miles. Compare that with the mileage on the listing.
Questions to ask the seller
- Have you had any problems related to electrical system, air bags, unknown or other?
- Can I see recent maintenance and repair records?
- Has the vehicle ever been towed, involved in a crash, or repaired for the same issue twice?
- Can we also check the recall record for this 2021 Honda Odyssey?
Used-car checklist
Use these complaints before the test drive.
Build a buyer checklist to turn these issues into questions and inspection points.
2021 Honda Odyssey
Build buyer checklist Compare with other years Sends year, make, and model to pre-fill your checklist.
How severe are the 2021 Honda Odyssey complaints?
2 Crash
1 Fire
4 Injury
0 Fatality
1 Towed
3 Medical attention
What are the most common 2021 Honda Odyssey complaint categories?
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16
AIR BAGS 15
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 12
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 9
STRUCTURE 4
SUSPENSION 4
ENGINE 3
VISIBILITY 3
VISIBILITY/WIPER 3
BACK OVER PREVENTION 2
115 total complaints on record
Latest complaints
| Date | Component | Summary | Severity | Mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2025 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Power tailgate problem displayed on dashboard. Suddenly stopped working. Constant dinging noise when driving. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | On 28-Dec-2024 I noticed the power tailgate stopped working on my 2021 Honda Odyssey. I tried to press the power tailgate button on the key fob, the button on the driver's side control panel, and the button on the tailgate itself, but none of them works. I did some research online and found out it's a common problem in 2018 to 2021 models and the cause was the failed Power Tailgate Control Unit due to water leakage through the cracks on the vehicle body. I opened mine and found there was water in the control unit box which might have caused short on the circuit board. I bought a new control unit a week later and it fixed the issue. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jan 2025 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | The children message that the radar is obstructed, I did the clean where is the radar is but the issue still. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Odyssey. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and the contact was informed that vehicles with present failures were being prioritized for the recall repair. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | STRUCTURE | The sliding door closed on my child's hand cutting the top of his finger off down to his finger bone. | Crash: No Fire: No Injuries: 1 Medical attention | Unknown |
| Dec 2024 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Odyssey. While the contact’s wife was driving approximately 70 MPH, the vehicle began to lose automotive power with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the roadway before stalling. The vehicle was unable to be restarted and was later towed to the local dealer. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 72,000. | Crash: No Fire: No | 72,000 |
| Dec 2024 | LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Odyssey. The contact stated that on one occasion while the vehicle was parked, the rear hatch failed to open. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving at approximately 35 MPH, the rear hatch opened inadvertently. The contact pulled over to the side of the road where the door was closed but failed to securely latch. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that condensation had leaked into to the driver’s side of the gate and damaged the rear gate control unit. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 46,500. | Crash: No Fire: No | 46,500 |
| Nov 2024 | LANE DEPARTURE | A few weeks ago, the car I was driving steered itself dangerously close to a pedestrian in the breakdown lane. I was driving my wife’s car which I drive infrequently. This model has a lane-keeping function which steers you back into your lane if you veer. I was rounding a bend in the right lane on a highway as a man appeared on the edge of my lane, changing a tire, partially in the roadway. I was pointed away from him so I let the car coast out of his way but the car literally turned the wheel and fought me as I tried to veer left out of the man’s way. It all happened in less than a one or two seconds. Had I used the turn signal the system would have temporarily disabled itself. I shared this story on Facebook with my friends and several friends reported nearly identical issues with lane keeping driving them towards a hazard. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Nov 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | Drive side rear power door stopped working. Upon using handl to opperate as usual the door stopped only a few inches open. A gentle shove got it open and opperational. The next day it did the same thing this time refuding to eithe ropen completely or re-latch. My children were in the car with me on the way to school and the door could not be opened to let them out or closed to safely proceed on our route. We began diagnositcs and found that the door continued to be problematic; opening just enough to be unlatched but nor going further, opening only half way and locking in place, or openeing completely then refusing to close... the door being in manual mode or power mode makes no differnece. after complelty disasembling the door/panel to check calbles and motor, checking fuses etc we put it all back to gether and suddenly it worked fin for about a dozen tries. HOWEVER the passanger side rear door (perviously untouched) suddenly developed the same problem. Now both doors will not function in either power or manual mode and I am waiting on the dealership to look into possible computer issues. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | UNKNOWN OR OTHER,ENGINE,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | After having the Honda Dealership perform an oil change and software update 23-008 (updating the Auto Idle Stop Software) last week, my engine stalled while at a busy intersection (PA turnpike/70 junction) during a road trip. At the long stop light the auto idle function engaged and the engine turned off. When the stop light turned green and I lifted my foot off the brake and pressed the gas the engine shut down and automatically went into Park. I had to press the start/stop button to fully turn off then turn back on the car to get the engine to restart. This is with a giant semitruck honking right behind me. The auto idle feature does not work. It sounds terrible every time the engine restarts after it has been engaged. There really should be an option to allow users to permanently disable it, and not have to remember to turn it off every time they start the car--terrible user experience. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL | After the PGM-FI update was put into our car, the engine cuts out entirely while at stop lights and will not wake back up. The Honda dealership is saying that there is nothing they can do. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Oct 2024 | AIR BAGS | I attempted to have recall repair work done at the dealer where I purchased the vehicle a few months ago and they told me the part will not be available until 2025. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | SUSPENSION | I purchased a 2021 Honda Odyssey with 55,000 miles on it. At 57,000 miles with normal driving conditions, I heard a metal on metal noise on rear passenger side. Upon taking it to the mechanic, both rear springs were rusted & broken - essentially giving my van no rear suspension and making it very dangerous to drive. I had to find a new vehicle for my kids for a month and a half as there is no aftermarket part. Honda would not find the part for me and wanted me to work through the dealership, but I did not have the time as this is family vehicle that I need each day. I had an independent mechanic find a pair of springs from a junkyard & he confirmed that in his 40 years of servicing exclusively Hondas, he's never seen springs fail like this at this mileage. He expected a faulty part. I drove this vehicle multiple times thinking that it was safe & only something loose in the car. At any moment, the suspension could have failed & caused a serious accident. I do have the springs & have attached photos. Component has not been inspected by anyone other than myself & mechanic. No prior warnings or messages noting a problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | ENGINE | My Honda Odyssey is experiencing an issue where it intermittently fails to restart automatically after coming to a stop and engaging the idle stop feature. Despite following Honda's recommendations, which included applying Service Bulletin 23-008 (updating the PGM-FI Idle Stop Software) and replacing the battery, the problem persists. I've also had the vehicle inspected at two different dealerships, with no resolution. I discovered Service Bulletin 23-009 on your website, which directly addresses this exact issue and extends the warranty for the Ridgeline, Pilot, and Passport models. Given that my Odyssey shares the same engine, it's concerning that it's not included in this bulletin. I believe it's unfair that I'm being forced to pay dealership fees to diagnose and fix a safety issue that Honda has already acknowledged and addressed for other vehicles with the same engine. I urge you to reconsider the exclusion of the Odyssey from Service Bulletin 23-009 and provide a solution that doesn't burden owners with unnecessary costs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Sep 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Odyssey. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | After a slight rain, the error of Radar Obstructed is being displayed. Can’t get this error removed or fixed. After searching more I found out that: 1. Honda has a defective design in the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) of all Honda Odysseys, models 2018-2023. 2. Namely, Honda has placed the RADAR behind the large HONDA emblem on the front grille. This causes the radar to give a "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning, which disables all Advanced Driver Assistance Systems in the car (Automatic Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning). 3. The "RADAR OBSTRUCTED" warning cannot be reset by restarting the vehicle or disconnecting the battery, requiring recalibration of the RADAR at the cost of $800 each time since it takes several hours to do (per Dealership). 4. The official Honda Odyssey Forum online has countless complaints on the same issue without resolution by Honda. 5. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers since this defect impacts the vehicle's advanced safety features for which buyers incur additional expenses, endangering the lives of passengers. 6. Honda has acted in bad-faith towards their customers by designing a system that requires continuous and substantial expenditures without resolution because it is an engineering problem, i.e., the placement of the radar behind the large, thick plastic H emblem obstructs the radar. 7. I hereby ask that the NHTSA investigate this issue and order Honda to offer a solution in the form of a RECALL that permanently addresses the problem. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Aug 2024 | AIR BAGS | Took my odyssey to the local dealer a few months back for the recall and dealer told me they wouldn’t have the part until next year. Now this has caused an issue to where my whole airbag system is short circuiting and the dealership wants to fix all the other issues and not fix the open recall. Family safety is at risk. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | AIR BAGS | The contact owns a 2021 Honda Odyssey. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 24V064000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1. Incident: I was driving and stopped at a red light, took my foot off of the brake and the car completely died, leaving me stranded at the intersection. The car started back up after 4 minutes. Note: This incident happened after 2 months of weird electrical things happening to the car, such as the radio turning on after the car had been turned off, car not starting, sliding doors losing power when they are halfway closed, coming to a stop and putting the car in park then the car completely loses all power/interior lights, and more... 2. My safety was put at risk by having a non-functioning car in the middle of the road. Someone could have rear-ended me. Also, it was over 100 degrees outside which added to the panic I was feeling. 3. The car has been inspected by Spreen Honda multiple times and by an independent Honda mechanic. Spreen Honda has not been able to reproduce the problem. They won't do anything besides hook it up to the computer, and since there are no codes present "there is nothing they can do". The independent mechanic said they'd never seen anything like this. 4. The manufacturer has not inspected the vehicle. When I reported this to Honda America they encouraged me to continue working with the dealer. This is completely unacceptable. 5. Right before the power went out the dash lit up with every warning lamp for maybe 5 seconds. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jul 2024 | POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1. While I was driving on the freeway, my radio turned off and my car put itself into NEUTRAL! I was able to safely pull over and put it back in drive. Note: This incident happened after 2 months of weird electrical things happening to the car, such as the radio turning on after the car had been turned off, car not starting, sliding doors losing power when they are halfway closed, coming to a stop and putting the car in park then the car completely loses all power/interior lights, the car turning off while stopped at a light and more... 2. Had there been more traffic I would have been in major danger. I could have easily been rear-ended or hit someone in the process of trying to get off of the freeway. It could have caused a multiple car collision. Grateful my children were not in the car at the time of the incident. 3. The car has been inspected by Spreen Honda multiple times and by an independent Honda mechanic. Spreen Honda has not been able to reproduce the problem. They won't do anything besides hook it up to the computer, and since there are no codes present "there is nothing they can do". The independent mechanic said they'd never seen anything like this. When I reported the incident to Honda America, they recommended I should continue taking the car to the dealership, which makes no sense as the dealership does not actually attempt to diagnose the problem if there is no code. 4. The manufacturer has not inspected the vehicle. When I reported this to Honda America they encouraged me to continue working with the dealership service department only. They don't take information from 3rd party service providers. This is completely unacceptable. 5. Right before the car shifted to neutral, the radio turned off and the dash lit up orange. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Jun 2024 | SUSPENSION | The inside shoulder of all four tires are bald and unsafe. The rest of the tire tread has ~7/32 of depth remaining. Because this suspension issue only affects the inside edge of the tire it is difficult to detect. Not all Gen 5 Honda Odysseys have this problem but I've read of others with the same problems as mine. The tires cross the threshold of 2/32" by approx. 23k miles. When the rest of the tire still looks good the avg consumer is not inspecting the inner shoulder because it would require tire removal or getting under the vehicle. Therefore, the issue goes undetected until a traction event occurs. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| May 2024 | SEATS | The third row seat latching mechanism will not lock the seat into place on the floor. We had a child who was sitting in the seat and the seat flipped backward. It is the left side seat in the third row. It appears the mechanism inside the seat that secures to the floorboard is missing or broke. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,AIR BAGS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | A recall has been issued on my vehicle since February. It is now almost May and when I call Honda about the recall they tell me that they do not have the solution as of yet. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,UNKNOWN OR OTHER,BACK OVER PREVENTION | Team Honda in Merrillville refused to fix my recall unless I paid for diagnostics. | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |
| Apr 2024 | FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE,LANE DEPARTURE | I am writing to urgently bring to your attention a critical issue plaguing the driver assist systems in Honda Odyssey 2018+ vehicles. Despite meticulous maintenance and adherence to manufacturer guidelines, I have encountered a persistent and alarming problem that appears to affect numerous other vehicle owners, as evidenced by online forums and discussions. The issue initially arose during a rainstorm, where I received a warning message stating, "Some Driver Assist Systems Cannot Operate: Radar Obstructed." Despite the weather clearing and thorough cleaning of both the sensors and the windshield camera, the warning persisted. Subsequently, a series of related problems emerged, including: Illumination of the BRAKE SYSTEM LIGHT Malfunctioning adaptive cruise control Faulty collision mitigation system Inoperative road departure mitigation system These errors not only pose a significant safety risk to myself and others on the road but also indicate a systemic issue with the vehicle's safety systems. As my vehicle is just past the three-year mark and out of warranty, I am apprehensive about incurring substantial costs for dealership repairs, especially considering the widespread nature of these complaints among Honda Odyssey owners. Extensive research reveals that I am not alone in experiencing these issues. Multiple reports and discussions online highlight similar complaints from other Honda Odyssey 2018+ owners, particularly following exposure to adverse weather conditions. Therefore, I implore the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter. It is crucial to identify the underlying cause of these recurring issues and hold the manufacturer accountable for any design flaws or defects contributing to the malfunction of critical safety systems. Furthermore, I urge NHTSA to prioritize public safety and take immediate action to ensure affected vehicles are promptly recalled or repaired to prevent further incident | Crash: No Fire: No | Unknown |